There has been some technical difficulty around here lately, hasn’t there?  My apologies for all of the downtime.  I’m still working on getting everything back to 100%, so please bear with me in the meantime.  I’ve missed posting, so rather than delay putting up new posts, I’m just going to keep it moving.

On to the good news, I’ve decided to take the dip and try the keratin smoothing complex therapy!  I feel like I’m a bit late to jumping on the keratin bandwagon, but after a few months of research and mulling over the decision, I decided to try it out at least one time.

Before I went through with the treatment, I asked many, many questions different salons.  Sometimes I’d call the same salon two or three times with follow-up questions.   I was mostly worried about the fact that many keratin treatments still contain formaldehyde, and the products on the market don’t use formaldehyde still have aldehyde listed in their ingredients.  Was it worth it?

I finally convinced myself to try the treatment just one time to see how it was.  The salon that I went to, the lovely Noel Rose Hair Studio in Lincoln Park, assured me that I would be fine.

Overall, the application was applied in a little over three hours.   First, my stylist washed my hair and blow dried my hair .  She then applied the keratin treatment in small sections with a brush.   My eyes didn’t become watery and I didn’t feel like I needed a gas mask as I’ve read on some reviews.  I do agree that the smell was still strong overall.

After she applied the keratin treatment, she then blow dried my hair once again until it was silky smooth.  She then flat ironed the hair at about 420 degrees to lock in the keratin.  The results?  Pin straight hair with no indication of  frizz.  In my opinion, it was probably the straightest that it’s ever been– and this includes even when I had a relaxer.

Currently, I’m on day 5 of “life with keratin” and I have had some time to gather my thoughts about the treatment.   I’ve made a small lists of the pros and cons so far:

• I can blow dry my hair straight in less than half the time it usually takes.
• Fights all evil frizz and humidity.
• Salon-like results at home.
• Very, very little product needed.
• Shiny, shiny hair.
• I’m told that it can last about 3-5 months, especially if a sulfate-free shampoo is used.

Cons:

• You cannot wash your hair, pin it up, put it in a ponytail, sweat, or even attract any perspiration.  In this hot Chicago weather, that is no small feat.
• It’s expensive.  $200 was the special and it’s regularly $250.  I hardly ever go to the salon anymore because of how expensive it was and the lack of natural hair stylists around, so I might be a little out of touch on this one.   However, if you do go to the salon for regular services on a bi-weekly basis, I’m sure you can justify the cost.
• Formaldehyde.   This is probably going to be the deal-breaker for me, because I just can’t see myself regularly and knowingly using a product with a sizable amount of formaldehyde.   I have found another stylist since who says her product contains no formaldehyde, but it does contain aldehyde.  She also commented that the results may not last as long.

And now for some before and after pictures:

to:

Overall, I do not regret trying out the keratin treatment.  It’s a welcome relief to combat this frizz in this humid Chicago weather and the results have delivered as promised.   What do you think?  Have you tried the keratin treatment?  Would you try it?